Obligatory Guardians Of The Galaxy

Guardians is all the talk amongst comic book fans and the non-geek folk alike. Fred wants everyone to know (including Chip Cella of The B-Team) that he has NOT seen it yet. I haven’t seen it yet either but it is definitely on the must-watch list. Sadly, it’s hard for me to go to movie theaters because we have a large family and, well, people are idiots at theaters.

I am Groot.

If you want an in-depth look at Guardians Of The Galaxy over the past several decades, check out Agents Of SHIELDcast. I’m sure Fred and Heffe will be reporting back with his findings well. Until then, let’s keep this a spoiler-free zone, friends!

Nose Tampon & Fred’s Recovery

Fred assures us that he is making a speedy recovery and we’re glad to have him back so we can officially-OFFICIALLY welcome Pixelated Pints to the GANG! That said, try not to give him a hard time about the nasaly sounding voice. Honestly, I kinda like the Keith Sweat tone to his voice now. *smirk*

Destiny Beta Talk.. Again

“That wizard came from the moon!”

Apparently, the wizard is no longer from the moon. If you don’t know what we’re talking about, check out Fred’s favorite web site (sarcasm) for a little background:

Fred discusses his feelings on Destiny and why he canceled his pre-order.

If you miss out on the zeitgeist of this game, you will be very lonely.

Heffe likes Destiny. Fred is not a fan. His argument (and I am paraphrasing):

What happens if you try to play the Titanfall campaign now? Disappointment. Destiny might be different but will the consistent updates be enough. Still, is Destiny the flavor of the moment. Will it be relevant in two years? And WTF is that zeitgeist stuff that keeps coming up on Pixelated Pints Episode 10?

zeitgeist – n. the defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history as shown by the ideas and beliefs of the time.

I agree with Fred’s sentiment. This is actually why I am taking a break from console gaming. It feels that a lot of games are hot for a week or a few months, then they suck thereafter. There aren’t many console games I can think of that you can go back to at any time or join late without feeling like you missed out on the full experience. Destiny has one thing on it’s side: at least it’s not an EA game!

Kickstarter Projects And Explaining “Investment”

Fred has a big problem with Kickstarter. Heffe sits back while Fred rants a bit. Fred’s biggest problem is that media outlets refer to Kickstarter backing as “investing”, which is misleading. Do backers/pledgers really feel that they are entitled to something in return?

Heffe agrees that Kickstarter projects are not investments because there is no profit sharing. Does material result qualifies as ROI (Return On Investment)? What do you think? You can e-mail PP at pixelatedpints@gmail.com or leave us a VM with your thoughts at (206) 415-4987 so we can discuss further. Don’t be shy – share your thoughts with the GANG!

The infamous Potato Salad Kickstarter project returns. Fred jokes that the project had a better ROI than most other crowdfunding efforts. LOL.. Now that may be true indeed!

EA Access: Value Or Rip-Off?

For $30 a year or around $6 a month, you can subscribe to EA Access. Think Netflix for video games. While the EA library is very sports-heavy, you can play gems like Battlefield 4 and Peggle 2 FOR FREE for as long as they are available in the library. It is worth noting that this will be a download service with limited availability.

Sony must have seen this as a conflict of interest since they have their stinker of a streaming service, Playstation NOw. Sony turned EA Access and now it will be an XBox One exclusive. Even if you are not interested in the free offerings and yesteryear’s hits, the biggest benefit of the service will be early access granting you a 5-day headstart on new releases.

Fortengard in the “chat” says EA Access will be a paywall within paywall.. And EA is notorious for nickel-and-diming consumers. As much as I dislike EA, I see the value for your buck.

For some reason, everyone picks on EA.

Fred and Heffe urge gamers to stop complaining about the free stuff we’re getting now with, say, XBox LIVE Games With Gold. Console gaming is really trying to drive value for gamers.

To put things into perspective, SNK is charging $9 for their Neo-Geo renting services, when you can own the games for that much. What?? Now, who would be better-suited to do a streaming or rental type subsciption service? Activision, Ubisoft, Square-Enix, Deep Silver.. What library would get us excited about getting freebies?

Defining Value In Preorders/Retail

One of the recurring themes we have here at GANG is the matter of preorders and retail pricing. With that, there’s stuff like early access games and Steam Greenlight.

Are preorders and early access good for the consumer?

I’m not a fan of pricing on the console. When you consider the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) for console gaming, you’re easily spending thousands upon thousands of dollars in a two to five-year span.. Even if you are a “casual” gamer. PC offers an investment that will last you longer. The initial entry point can be rough but, after that, there is value around every corner.

Preorders I feel are losing their appeal. The bonus content rarely warrants the initial buy-in. For most of us, waiting for a sale makes more sense, unless we are worried about missing out on the zeitgeist for the particular game. Essentially, we’re paying for the water-cooler conversations and the bragging rights that come with being early adopters.

Fred notes that PC pricing will always be more competitive than console pricing because they have abandoned the retail model long ago. Consoles also subsidize the hardware cost through attachments, which keeps the initial cost lower than comparable gaming PCs. Fred goes on to say that early access is a great idea but it needs to be quarantined from the completed games because a lot of these games never quite get “finished”.

Here’s my argument: early access games are often no different than a lot of full retail offerings.. Except you’re paying less for them. There is less risk with PC gaming. You get more value for your buck on the PC front, whereas console games are removing value from initial releases more and more. Just look at how many iterations of Street Fighter IV there are! And let’s not even get started on the DLCs and locked on-disc content… Meh.

Unfocused Focus Groups.. And The Decline In US Education

Focus groups still have a place but do gaming companies and their research/marketing partners have any clue what they are doing? Fred will tell you the answer is a resounding NO! To illustrate this, he shares a story of a highly-educated woman who suggest a game with Kratos in a World War II setting. Yup, because WW2 hasn’t been the theme of any game before.

Are focus groups too unfocused to accomplish anything of value? Value.. There’s that dirty word again. Furthermore, is US education getting that bad? Come on, we must have better ideas than that Kratos crap!

Is Minecraft Is Over-Rated?

MOE-JANG pops up into the discussion. Is Notch a total douche? What is he doing with the tons of money that Minecraft has made him?

The PP crew agrees that Minecraft is an over-rated POS. What do you think? If you ask this guy, Scrolls is the real Mojang game of note.

For more rants and drunken gaming goodness, visit the PP crew at http://pixelatedpints.com/ and PixelatedPints on Google+/YouTube!

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